Though summer doesn't officially end for two weeks, we meteorologists usually consider the three warmest months - June, July and August - as "meteorological" summer for statistical purposes.

Through the first three weeks of August, this year's meteorological summer was in contention to be the warmest on record, exceeding even some of the brutally hot summers of the 1990s. But the cooler weather of the last ten days of the month knocked this summer down from that lofty spot. Nonetheless, based on the preliminary numbers, this will rank as the fifth warmest summer on record, and despite its relatively cool finish, the month of August will go down as the fourth warmest.

Are we done with the really hot weather for the year? Well, not necessarily. Given this summer's history of heat and dryness, it wouldn't surprise me to see a few more steamy days. And historically, we average between one and two 90^oF days in September anyway. By the way, the record highest September temperatures are 102^oF in Philadelphia and 100^oF in Wilmington.